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How do you tell the NYC taxi driver where you want to go if he doesn't speak English?
Same as anywhere. He understands the destination in whatever pig-den you share. Lived for a month in rural Japan where no one spoke English and I had only rudimentary Japanese. Worked fine.
2 Years ago I was in Boston and jumped int a cab...destination a well know hotel..the cab driver had no idea...we needed to give him directions via smart phone gps.
Welcome to the new America.
New?
Between the 70's- early 2000's I took serious thousands of cab rides. Half the time the drivers were not familiar with the destination, including some who did not seem to know where the airport was.
As it relates to NYC, 90% of the drivers are foreign born. There are more than 100 languages spoken in NYC- nothing new.
Uber drivers are not required to speak English and it has not hurt its business model.
Most of them never spoke coherent English to begin with.
Unless the passenger is one of those people who enjoys conversing with the driver, the driver's fluency makes no difference.
What matters is if the driver understands your verbal or written destination and how to get there.
NYC is unlike any other city in the US.
More than 100 languages are spoken in NYC which is nothing new. The city receives more than 50 million foreign visitors a year from all over the world. About 25% of foreign visitors are from China. While most understand basic English, most are not fluent speakers.
It's a huge assumption that a passenger speaks English in NYC.
Thats just sad. No other country in the world would give up their language & culture for fear of offending outsiders. Stop over-compensating. Whoever decides to migrate to your country needs to assimilate. Vote for leaders who will fight for you & wont sell you out.
It's obvious you have not spent time in an expat community outside the US.
US people are especially challenged to assimilate on foreign soil.
US travelers often resent it when local people do not speak or understand English. And then there are the US travelers who become outraged to learn that the USD is not accepted.
Same as anywhere. He understands the destination in whatever pig-den you share. Lived for a month in rural Japan where no one spoke English and I had only rudimentary Japanese. Worked fine.
Uh; the difference is the DRIVER in Japan spoke Japanese, just like a cab driver in the US needs to speak English. Period.
It's obvious you have not spent time in an expat community outside the US.
US people are especially challenged to assimilate on foreign soil.
US travelers often resent it when local people do not speak or understand English. And then there are the US travelers who become outraged to learn that the USD is not accepted.
Not the other country's problem. It's on the visiting American to "fit in". Period.
Uh; the difference is the DRIVER in Japan spoke Japanese, just like a cab driver in the US needs to speak English. Period.
How would you know that? Or I at the time? The cab driver may well have been Korean...unlikely though in the back country. Actually may not have spoken anything.
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